by drcole » Sun Jun 20, 2004 2:00 pm
there are two schools of thought when grafting into finer, thinner hair. one is to limit the density to prevent shock loss. the other is to go for a higher density so we can get a better result from the grafts in the near term. the theory behind this second approach is that you are going to loose the hair anyway so don't worry about loosing it. either approach is acceptable. many are very concerned about hair loss and will be very angry if you accelerate their hair loss prematurely. therefore, it is important for patients to fully understand the risks and benefits of many approaches. then we can allow them to make the decision with us rather than us making the decision for them and getting a dissappointing complication of surgery - acceleration of hair loss. we see disappointed patients who expereinced this acceleration all the time. it typically results from a physician who attemtps to do more grafts than he should in an effort to do a larger procedure that results in a larger pay day. the patient generally is not told that this action may result in an accelerated hair loss pattern.